Coffin and rough box.



G. W. HARRIS.

COFFIN AND ROUGH BOX. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1917.

1,228,112. Patented m 29, 1917.

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GEORGE W. HAnnIs, or BnUsrrroiT, NEW YORK.

COFFIN AND ROUGH BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 29, 1917,

Application filed March 24, 1917. Serial No. 157,208.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE HARRIS, a citizen of the United States, residing" at Brushton, in the. county of Franklin State of New York, have invented a new and useful Coffin and Rough Box, of which the following is a specification.

By way of explanation it may be stated that when a coffin is transported in a rough box, the coffin not infrequently gets loose, allowing the cOflin to shuckin the box, thereby damaging the exterior finish of the coffin.

The present invention aims to provide novel means whereby the coffin will be prevented from moving about within the rough box, during transportation, and to provide novel means whereby after the coflin has been lowered into the rough box, in the grave, the lowering straps may be pulled out readily. It is within the province of the disclosure toimprove generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the present invention appertains.

WVith the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows in top plan, a rough box constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section showing a rough box and a coffin mounted therein, the parts being arranged in the positions which they will assume during transit;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the coffin and the rough box in the positions which they will assume after the coflin has been lowered into the rough box, the latter being in the grave;

Fig. 4 is a cross section onthe'line 4 -4 of Fig. 2'; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a supporting plate which is interposed between certain of the parts of the bottom of the rough box.

In the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 denotes the bottom of a rough box 2, the bottom of the rough box being made up of separate parts or boards :3 disposed transversely of the rough box. Interposed between certain of the parts 3 of the bottom of the rough box are plates 4 which may be made of metal if desired, these plates 4 upstanding as shown at 7, above the upper surface of the bottom 1 of the rough box. The plates 4 have openings 5 receiving securing elements 6, which, entering the edges of certain of the parts 3 of the bottom ofthe rough box,.hold the plates inplace.

The numeral 8 denotes the bottom of a coffin 9, the bottom'S of the coffin being provided with transverse slots or seats 10 in which the upstanding portions of the plates 4 are received under circumstances to be pointed out hereinafter.

Let it be supposed that the coffin 9 is to be transported in the rough-box 2. Then the parts are arranged as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings, under which circumstances, the upstanding portions 7 of the plates 4 are received in the seats or recesses 10 in the bottom 8 of the coffin 9. Noting particularly Fig. 4 of the drawings, it will be obvious that the cofiin 9 cannot slide about within the rough box 2. Two screws 11 are to be inserted through the bottom 1 of the rough box 2, to engage the bottom 8 of the coffin 9, if the coffin and the rough box are shipped'together, when there is no corpse in the cofiin, it being a common practice under such circumstances, to set up the rough box and the coffin on end. During the transportation of a corpse, however, the

coffin and the rough box of course are not v set up endwise, and the screws 11 may be omitted, the weight of the corpse being sufficient to keep the upstanding edges 7 of the plates 4 in the slots or seats 10 in the bottom of the coffin.

It is to be observed tha-tthe plates 4 are spaced at unequal distances from the respective ends of the rough box 2, the seats or slots 10 being spaced at unequal distances from the respective ends of the coffin 9. When the rough box 2-has been placed in the grave, then the coffin 9 may be turned end for end, from the position shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the coffin will be supported on the upstanding portions 7 of the plates 4, owing to the relative positions of the plates with respect to the ends of the rough box 2, and owing to the disposition of the slots or seats 10 with respect to the ends of the cofiin. Since the coflin 9, as shown in Fig. 3, is spaced from the bottom of the rough box 2 by the upstanding portions of the plates 4, the lowering straps 12 may be withdrawn readily from beneath the coflin 9, after the coflin has been placed in the rough boX 2 in the grave.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is j V 1. In a device of the class described, a rough box having upstanding projections on its bottom; and a coffin having recesses receiving the projections, the projections being spaced at unequal distances, from the ends of the rough box, and the recesses be ing spaced at unequal distances from the ends of the cofiin, whereby when the coffin is in one position, the projections will be received in the recesses, and whereby when the coflin is turned end for end, the coflin will be supported on the. projections, in

ipaced relation to the bottom of the rough 2. In a device of the class described, cooperating parts comprising a cofiin-bottom and a rough-boX-bottom, one of said cooperating parts being provided with projections which engage the other of said cooperating p arts to hold the bottoms vertically spaced to receive coflin-lifting means, the other of said cooperating parts having seats in which the projections are received when the coffin is turned end for end, thereby to prevent relative lateral. movement between said cooperating parts.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afi'ixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. HARRIS.

Witnesses I F. D. Woons, V. M. ORTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

